


Charred

by MonkeyVenom



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: M/M, fighting heartless, typical "bff" things, worried friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-04
Updated: 2014-09-04
Packaged: 2018-02-16 03:38:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2254446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonkeyVenom/pseuds/MonkeyVenom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Axel and Roxas go on a typical mission, and Axel tries out a familiar technique against the enemy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Charred

Eyes alert, fingers twitching in anticipation of an immediate encounter, the fiery redhead stuck close to his smaller companion. The blond in question turned his head slightly to meet the gaze of his partner, grinning despite his nervousness. “You scared, Axel?”

That earned a frown from the older Nobody, and he looked down on Roxas sharply, “This is no time for joking, kid, we have to stay alert. Remember the mission, supposedly there are-“

“-numerous high level heartless in the area, and we’re supposed to take them out. I know, geez,” he rolled his eyes, turning his gaze forward. “It’s fine, nothing we haven’t done before, right?”

Axel sighed, his grip on his chakrams tightening ever so slightly. It was one thing to go against artificial heartless, regardless of how big they were; the artificial ones didn’t seem capable of individual thought, and that alone made them relatively harmless. It was the shadows, or rather, the neo-shadows that posed a greater threat. Numerous reports conducted by other Organization members, as well as simple Dusk reports, indicated that the neo-shadows moved in tandem with one another, often behaving in accordance with the type of enemy they faced. Axel sincerely hoped that his and Roxas’ unique fighting styles would be enough to baffle the creatures, but he also knew that things seldom went according to plan when the Keyblade-bearer was involved.

His thoughts were interrupted by the unmistakable stench of dark blood, the glowing eyes of the monsters dotting the alleyway walls. They watched the pair intently, unblinking gaze sizing up the potential prey. Roxas stopped mid-step, following Axel’s line of sight to the same alley. Slowly, the heartless crawled out of the darkness, fingers leaving minute stains on the pavement below them. Remnants of past harvests were hard to clean off, after all.

A small laugh sounded from the back of the blond’s throat, the kind of nervous laughter that one makes when faced with an imposing threat. Axel grinned tensely, arms akimbo as the metal wheels came alive with flames. The two of them made their moves against the group of heartless, who in turn lunged at the pair with surprising speed.  
Roxas grit his teeth when one of the creatures managed a scratch on his cheek, a small bead of blood accentuating the cut on his face. Axel cut through a group of three, the hissing release of hearts mixing with the crackling of flames dissolving darkness itself. He turned his head sharply, watching Roxas attempt to fend off a group of the same size. The heartless had seemed to deem Roxas the safer target, as getting close to Axel would result in instant incineration. As the teen dealt with the three, a larger amount crept silently up to him, outside of his line of vision.

Axel’s attention was immediately focused on Roxas, but his way to the blond was obstructed by a throng of the neo-shadows. “Roxas! Behind you, watch yourself!” The blond turned in time to see a dark being lunge at him, a swipe of the Keyblade releasing the captive heart. “Watch yourself, not me!” His retort was clipped, a bead of sweat running down his face. Axel’s eyes widened minutely – it hadn’t occurred to him that Roxas’ stamina would be a factor in the battle. The boy had power, that was true, but he was still just a teenager; there was only so much he could do before exhaustion would take him, and it dawned on the redhead that the exhaustion of the Keyblade-bearer was the true intention of their focus.

Met with two options, Axel considered his choices: fight his own battle, and hope that Roxas was capable enough to defend himself, or jump into the fray and potentially endanger them both. A cry from Roxas snapped Axel’s head up quickly, the teen bending to his knees as his hand covered a gash in his side. Perhaps there was a reason the Organization dress code required the color black, as any other color would display the vibrant color of blood. Roxas gasped sharply, holding his Keyblade in front of him to parry any other attacks while he attempted to recover from the wound. The heartless, however, would have none of that, seizing the chance to rip the boy apart. Knowing the inevitable, Roxas shut his eyes tightly, not wishing to see his eminent demise.  
Such a demise never came, as he felt himself being enveloped by the waves of heat produced by fire, Axel standing in front of him. “Stay right behind me, don’t move a muscle.” He spoke calmly, gaze focused ahead. At this rate, there were too many heartless to take on alone if he were to simply use brute strength. However, Axel knew there was a way to annihilate the threat, at the cost of the hearts that they could collect for the Organization. It didn’t take long for him to decide what to do, gritting his teeth as his very essence was set ablaze.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Roxas’ own staring down at him, blond brows creased in worry. The first thing he felt was water, running tracks through the ash that coated his skin. It didn’t take him long to figure out that the water was coming from the Keyblade-bearer, and he attempted to sit up. The action, however, caused him to hiss in pain, earning a concerned glance from Roxas. 

“You’re hurt.”

“What a brilliant observation, I didn’t realize-“ his sarcasm was cut short by a cough, a small speck of ash clinging to his bottom lip.

Roxas bit his own, hanging his head, “I’m sorry, I should’ve been more vigilant, I should’ve-“

“Shh. This is just what happens sometimes, it’s the way things are. You got a potion on you, that’d be great.”

The boy rummaged through his coat, pulling out the pocket-sized vial. “Here, open up-“ His cheeks colored slightly at the sight of the redhead parting his lips obligingly, but he shook his head of such thoughts just as quickly. This was not the time. The green liquid was coaxed down Axel’s throat, and he made a face as his body twitched, the damage already beginning to repair itself. Sure, it wasn’t as great as an elixir would have been, but it would last him until he got to the Castle to fully heal himself.

Carefully, he eased himself up, ignoring the silent worried look from the blond. “Alright, we need to RTC, and I’ll take the fall when we see Saïx.”

Roxas nodded, biting his lip again. Axel noticed the action, gloved hand placed on the side of the blond’s face. “Hey. What’s up?” The Keyblade bearer shook his head, but stopped the action when he felt chapped lips meet his own. He blinked, surprised, watching as the redhead pulled back with a smirk. “Calm down. I’m fine, and everything’s going to be fine. Come on, let’s head back.”

Roxas helped him up, the duo seeming a little comical as the two staggered back to the castle, Axel leaning against Roxas for support. And, in truth, the blond hoped that he would always be there so that Axel had something to lean on. After all, that’s what best friends were for.

**Author's Note:**

> First time writing for Kingdom Hearts, and I am definitely not for sure how I feel about this. ^^' Thank you for reading.


End file.
